Loved Ones and Lost Ones
by TheCrowMaiden
Summary: Steve catches the twins looking at their 'little picture' after a mission and shares one of his own. A Steve and Maximoff twin bonding one-shot. No pairings, just friendship/family. Mild AoU spoilers.


The family photo, worn around the edges and creased from spending years tucked into pockets, still fit into a frame. Pietro buffed the varnished wood of the old frame with his sleeve and propped it on his bedside table after he fit the back in, finding the best angle to see it from the bed. It felt a little lonely to no longer have their parents in his pocket, but Pietro was glad to keep them safe.

He sighed, and flopped onto his stomach so he could look over his sister's shoulder. Wanda was sitting on the floor and painstakingly trimming the copy of the family photo that the twins had made and laminated at the public library earlier in the morning. She was trying to cut it to fit the battered locket that Pietro had gotten from a second hand store that same day, but she was having trouble making an even circle. It didn't help that it had been harder than expected to find a pair of scissors in the Tower, and the ones they had found were hardly the best for trimming the laminated paper. She managed it after a few tries though, and the piece of the locket that held the picture in place covered the jagged edges.

The front of the dented brass was decorated with engravings that Pietro thought looked a bit like Wanda's magic when she was teasing images out of people's heads. It may have originally been floral themed, but some of the lines were almost worn smooth and it gave it the whimsy that reminded him of his sister. The back of the locket was plain though, and the twins had carved their family name into it with an old nail. It had taken a while to make it deep enough where it wouldn't wear away anytime soon though, and Pietro's fingers were still sore long after they finished the last 'f'.

Even though it was as big as a milk cap, the locket fit in nicely with the other assorted bits of jewellery that Wanda wore. She rearranged her numerous necklaces until the locket settled in a way that she liked and pried it open with her thumbnail. She held it up to Pietro, who was still looking over her shoulder, for his inspection.

"It looks good."

"It does." Wanda tucked it back among the other chains and strings of her necklaces. "It's safe too."

"That is also good." Pietro grinned and finger combed the tangles from Wanda's hair where it had gotten caught in her necklaces. "We wouldn't want to misplace them. Especially since we have a mission today."

On cue, the phone that Natasha had given Wanda beeped and displayed a text reminding them to meet at the roof in half an hour. Pietro rolled over to look at the clock on the wall, and rolled his eyes at his sister.

"I didn't realize we took so long. Show time, yes?"

.~.

Sparks sputtered out on the damp ground, their sizzling mingling with the muttered curses of Tony as he tried to patch the hole in the Quinjet well enough where it would fly. The HYDRA base they had gone to eliminate had specialized in artillery so heavy that Clint had said he would have preferred if they had found another set of twins instead.

"I still can't believe the range on their anti-aircraft guns." Tony grumbled to a dishevelled Bruce, who was holding the toolkit.

Bruce made a noncommittal noise in return, and rubbed at his face tiredly. The team had taken a beating, and they were ranged around the damaged jet slumped in exhaustion.

Clint and Natasha were back to back, the archer having removed his quiver to hold it loosely in his lap. They both had their eyes closed, although they would smirk whenever Tony spouted off a particularly inventive bit of profanity. Thor was sitting on a fallen over tree with the remnants of his cape balled up in one hand, and Steve was leaning against another tree sending in a verbal report.

The arm Pietro had around Wanda's shoulder was shaking; he had run himself to the very edge of his abilities and he was still trying to get his breath back. Both the twins had gotten nosebleeds from overexertion, Wanda's being worse. Steve had gotten her an artificial icepack to apply to her face right after they had finished fighting, with strict instructions for neither of them to lean their heads back.

Wanda removed the now-warm icepack and dabbed experimentally at her nose with part of her sleeve. When it came away clean she sighed and leaned into Pietro, closing her eyes. Neither the sparks nor Tony's swearing had eased, and Pietro wondered if the team's mechanic could get the jet airborne again before dark.

.~.

When they could no longer see each other and the shape of the jet became indistinct, the team retreated inside the grounded aircraft for the night. Steve called in a request to the base to send them transport in the morning, and Tony rerouted the remaining power to provide heat and sustain stealth mode.

The inside of the Quinjet was foreboding without light, and Natasha broke open the emergency kit for flashlights. There were enough for one each, as well as blankets, protein bars, and water. The Avengers broke off into groups again, settling down around the jet as comfortably as they could while gnawing on the protein bars.

Thor chose to guard the ramp, while Tony insisted on being in the pilot's seat, feet propped up on the control panel. Bruce chose the farthest corner he could tuck himself into, and Clint and Natasha made themselves at home on top of some of the supply crates.

The twins chose a nook that was away from the glass and the door, combining their blankets for warmth. Pietro gripped their flashlight in his teeth as they made themselves as comfortable as they could on the hard steel floor.

"Are you done yet?" Wanda whispered to Pietro, as he continued to twist and turn after a couple minutes.

"I think I'm sitting on a bolt." He said, spitting the flashlight out and rubbing the back of his thigh. "Move over a little."

Wanda shuffled to the side a few inches, and Pietro settled in next to her with no further complaints or shifting. They propped the flashlight onto one of the support beams in the wall, and huddled together as Wanda pulled the locket over her head and opened it.

Their parents looked the same as they had for all the years Pietro had kept the picture with him, taking it out at night no matter where they were. But now they were protected by a lid, and framed with brass instead of grimy fingers. Looking at the picture was a familiar comfort in the unfamiliar setting of the dark jet, and Pietro was glad they had finished the locket before they had left.

"You know, the two of you should get some sleep."

Both the twins sat bolt upright at the sound of Steve's voice, the captain standing right over them. Pietro realized they were the only ones who still had their flashlight on, and his smartass reply died on his tongue when he saw Steve look down at the picture. Wanda shut it a moment too late, pity having already softened the man's face.

Pietro grabbed the locket from Wanda, stuffing it under the blanket and glaring at Steve. Pietro was somewhat less bothered by Steve seeing the picture than he was bothered that Steve had caught them looking at it.

"We were just going to sleep." Pietro snapped, and he reached for the flashlight.

But Steve beat him to it, and the older man sat down across from them with a sigh. He balanced the light upright so it was less harsh and pulled something from his pocket. It looked like a watch, and Steve opened and closed it several times while giving the twins an appraising look. They had seen him look at it before, back at the Tower.

Wanda was staring at her hands, and Pietro was still scowling as he kept the locket clenched in his fist when Steve reached out and offered the twins the battered object. Pietro let Wanda take it, and he leaned over to get a closer look. It wasn't a watch as he had thought, but a compass that looked like a leftover from the war. There didn't seem to be anything particularly interesting about it, until Wanda flicked the catch.

A picture of a young woman was hidden on the inside, and Wanda inhaled sharply.

"Who is this?" Pietro asked, taking the compass from Wanda to get a better look at the aged black and white picture.

"Your sister knows." Steve said somewhat bluntly, although he gave Pietro a strained smiled a moment later. "Her name is Peggy."

Pietro turned to Wanda, who looked disconcerted. "You knew her from your life before." She said, looking between the compass and Steve. "You loved her."

"No need for the past tense. But yes."

"Why show us?" Pietro asked, torn between curiosity and embarrassment over the picture that obviously meant so much to the older man. He let go of the locket with his parents' picture so he could hold the compass properly with both hands, supporting the lid with the woman's picture. He felt like even though Steve had let them see it voluntarily, it wasn't right for them to be looking at it.

"To make us even."

Steve held his hand out, and Pietro handed back the compass. Steve tucked it back in his belt pocket and then handed the twins their flashlight back.

"Get some rest."

Wanda turned the light off once Steve had settled himself next to Thor to guard the ramp, and nudged Pietro with her elbow. He fished the locket out from under the blanket, and helped her put it back on. They curled up together under the thin emergency blankets, listening to the sounds of the rest of the team breathing in the darkness with the occasional snore from Tony. Pietro could feel Wanda fiddling with the locket, and he wondered if Steve had a picture of Peggy on his bedside table too.

.~.

The next morning Sam arrived bright and early, in a helicopter being piloted by Maria Hill and stocked with two crates of supplies to use on the Quinjet. They also had breakfast, and Sam handed out warm coffee and muffins while Tony tackled the hole in the jet with renewed vigour.

It only took a couple hours to complete the repairs that would get it airborne, and they decided that Bruce, Clint, and Natasha would go back on the helicopter while the others would stay with the jet. Though it was able to fly, many of the other functions were still offline or required manual input.

One of those functions was the navigation, and Tony snapped his fingers at Steve to get his attention.

"We could use that relic of yours right about now."

"Relic?"

"Your compass." Tony said, rolling his eyes. "It'll help with making sure we're going in the right direction until I can get some land marks, since it's so damn dark I'm not sure where the sun is."

Steve nodded his agreement stiffly, and stood behind the pilot's seat with the compass resting in his palm. He curled his fingers around it when Tony tried to reach out though and even shifted back a bit, causing the other man to sigh.

"Would you try putting it where I can see it, Rogers?"

"If you want to know which way we're going, I'll tell you."

The billionaire stifled a groan and after rubbing at his eyes for a solid minute, reached out with a quick flick of his wrist. His aim was Steve's elbow, and the unexpected contact jolted the compass from Steve's hand.

"A ha!" Tony said triumphantly, snatching the compass from the air.

Or so he thought.

Tony stared at his empty hand in blank confusion, until he saw Pietro leaning against the wall grinning. The older man scowled and sat back, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"I believe you have said more than once, Stark: 'don't touch my stuff.'" Pietro quipped, one eyebrow raised as he produced the compass from his pocket. "Perhaps you should follow that yourself."

Tony turned to the controls without answering, muttering under his breath about cocky youngsters as he started the engines. The jet shuddered and a thin stream of smoke came off the side that had been damaged as Tony started the ascent. A communication panel popped up to the surprise of everyone with Clint and Natasha crowding the screen, and Thor leaned over Tony's shoulder to relay the jet's progress to them.

With the helicopter able to guide them the compass was forgotten, and Pietro went over to Steve and handed it back to him. Wanda and Pietro shared a quick smile at Steve's look of complete gratitude, and Wanda waved away his thanks while she put her hand to the locket resting at the base of her throat.

"No need to thank us, Captain. As you said, we're even."

* * *

 _A special note of thanks goes out to poetrygirl22, who sent me several very wonderful reviews right when I was having a very poor opinion of my own writing. Thank you!_


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